1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of automobiles and, in particular, to an integration of a gear shift position indicator on the steering wheel of the automobile.
2. Description of Related Art
Originally, all transmission shifting was accomplished manually with a stick type shifter positioned on the floor. However, this made three abreast seating in the front seat of the automobile difficult. To provide for three abreast seating in the front seat, column-mounted manual shifting systems became popular. With automatic transmissions, the gear selector was mounted on the steering column, behind the steering wheel and a mechanical gear selection display was mounted on the steering column or on the dash board. Movement of the gear selector caused an indicator to move across a dial with gear positions indicated thereon.
This mounting position remained popular even when automatic transmissions were introduced. However, sport cars and most racing cars still used floor-mounted shifters. Chrysler Corporation in the 1950's time frame introduced a push button controlled transmission located in the center of the steering wheel hub. However, it proved to have a short life and the column mounted shift lever remained the standard.
When the sport or sporty car became popular, the trend reverted back to mounting the shifter on the floor, in reality on top of the transmission. In fact, with the advent of “bucket seats” limiting the front of the passenger compartment to two, center mounting the shifter was a significant cost saver. In these automobiles, an electronic display was mounted on the dash board.
Gear position indicators have been developed for manual shifting transmissions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,761 Gear Section Indicator For Manual Transmissions by T. V Kazyaka discloses a system where in switches mounted about the gear shift lever sense gear position and a gear position indicator is mounted on the end of the knob on the end of the lever. The drawback to this system is that the driver must look down ward and to the right to see the indicator.
What is needed, is an indicator system can be retrofitted to older cars that can be more easily observed and is easy to install. Furthermore, it should not require significant mechanical changes to the automobile, lest the total cost of the system and its installation become prohibited. Ideally, the indicator system should mount on the steering wheel, without requiring rewiring of the automobile.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a gear selection indicator that is mounted on the steering wheel hub.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide a gear selection indicator that is mounted on the steering wheel hub, but retains the horn button feature.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a gear selection indicator that is mounted on the steering wheel hub, but retains the horn button feature and does not require rewiring of the steering column.